“Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia created private sector jobs in October, and the majority of states also reported declines in their unemployment rates,” said Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the JEC. “We must work together to increase the momentum of the recovery, which is why I’ve called for a hearing to examine the challenges of the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ so Congress can hear from top economists on the best policies to strike a balanced approach to job creation and debt reduction.”

November state-by-state report highlights include:

Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia added private-sector jobs in October. California (54,400) had the largest private-sector gains, followed by Texas (24,500) and Maryland (16,700). In the past 12 months, 42 states and the District of Columbia gained private-sector jobs, with California (333,100), Texas (269,000) and New York (131,900) recording the largest gains. During this period, nearly 2.0 million private-sector positions were added nationally.

Fourteen states had statistically significant decreases in the unemployment rate during October and the remaining states and the District of Columbia did not have changes that were significant. South Carolina (-0.5 percentage point) had the largest decline, followed by Alaska, Wisconsin, and Louisiana (-0.4 point each). In the past 12 months, 18 states and the District of Columbia reported statistically significant decreases in the unemployment rate, with Nevada (-1.9 percentage points) recording the largest decline.

Manufacturing employment expanded in 25 states in October, as the nation added 13,000 manufacturing jobs during the month. Georgia added 4,500 manufacturing jobs, Indiana gained 3,100 and North Carolina saw a gain of 2,600. In the past 12 months, 32 states added manufacturing positions, with the largest gains in the Midwest.

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia added jobs in the professional and business services sector in October. In the past year, 40 states have added professional and business services jobs.

Thirty-four states added jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector during October. In the past 12 months, 44 states added leisure and hospitality jobs. During this time, leisure and hospitality employment increased by 340,000 positions.

The report entitled “Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots,” features key economic statistics for each state. The report is the eleventh edition released in 2012 by the Chairman of the JEC and uses recently released state-level data to explain how the economic recovery is unfolding in each state.